David Domoney Highlights Common Problems Found With Our Gardens.

Summer in full swing with Pavestone

Summer Is In Full Swing


We’re spending more time than ever before in the garden during these uncertain times, planting, pruning, and keeping our plants hydrated – that’s if the British weather hasn’t already! But whilst we spend more time in our gardens, we notice things that we’d like to change or make plans for our spaces to become more practical or add some personality. Here are some of the best ways to deal with a few common problems in the garden.
 

Waterlogged Garden

Waterlogged Woes

If your garden is prone to waterlogging or wet soil, whether that is from the position of your house, heavy rain or a difficult soil that doesn’t drain well, it’s likely that plants will find it hard to survive because their roots will be overwhelmed with water.
 

Time to lose the wellies!

Time To Lose The Wellies!

Firstly, you can improve your soil by regularly adding plenty of organic matter will help to break up heavy soils like clay into smaller particles to help the structure and aid drainage. Then choose to plant moisture loving plants as a natural way of utilising the boggy area to your advantage. Iris ensata ‘Variegata’ thrive in poorly drained soil in a sunny or partially shaded spot.
 

Iris Ensata and Arum Lily
Iris Ensata 'Variegata'    Arum Lily 'Crystal Blush'

 

Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal Flower)
Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal Flower)

 

Adding some deep-purple colour to your boggy beds and borders. The white spathes of the arum lily ‘Crystal Blush’ alongside their upright lance-shaped leaves will grace your garden in summer in a sheltered spot with full sun. Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) is also perfect to add some fiery red to your poorly-drained area, growing up to 1m tall.
 

Decorative aggregate will help with ground drainage

Aggregates Look Great and Will Help With Poor Drainage


As well as this, it may be a good idea to dig some trenches or ditches in the lower parts of the garden, then fill them with gravel to encourage drainage and give the water somewhere to go.

 

Step up your game in landscaping

 

Step-Up Your Game

For a perfectly functional way to level out land whilst adding style and character to your home, steps are a great starting point. Steps that fit your needs are key, whether you want wide and long steps for a gradual incline or a curved case that spirals around a corner, they can add beauty and value to your home whilst levelling out any problem areas.

 

Add style and character to your garden

Add Style & Character


Having steps leading up to your home is a marvellous opportunity to make an impact and create a cohesive aesthetic that begins at the front of your house and carries on in your back garden too.  Those in the back garden can create an incredible impact by elevating patio areas furnished with an outdoor dining set or a cosy seated spot based on the smooth and sandy tones of Regal Paving ‘Summit’.
 

A regal look to your patio

Add a Regal Look To Your Patio


Surround the space with containers filled with herbs like coriander, mint, thyme, and parsley for fantastic fragrances to complement your social space. As well as this, they’re in the perfect spot to be picked and taken straight to the kitchen to add to your culinary delights.
 

Rhododendron White Lights
Rhododendron "White Lights"  

 

The Bullnose Steps complement the Regal Paving perfectly, maintaining the clean and contemporary   design with rounded edges to create a soft and welcoming appearance which will lead down to your lawn or further patio area that’s bordered by colourful, fragrant and attractive blooms like rhododendron ‘White Lights’ that will tempt you down with their pink-white funnel shaped flowers that have a pleasant aroma from spring.

Edging your bets.

Edge Your Bets


Gardens really are an extension of our homes, and just like our abodes, sectioning off gardens to have parts fit for a purpose is a great idea to make the most out of your space. What better way to section off areas visually than edging?

Keep your lawn and plants in place

Keep Your Lawn & Plants In Place


To add that finishing touch to separate your borders from your lawn or paved area, as well as practically keeping mulch and other materials in the places that they should be, Rustic Natural Stone Edging will provide a crisp structure to the space.

For a Victorian style finish for an older cottage home or for a Mediterranean style garden, the red tones of Ropetop Edging will beautifully complement statement planters and terracotta pots filled with strawberries. Or benefit from the classic texture paired with the darker tone of ‘Charcoal’ for a contemporary and modern twist.

Finding the right path

Lead The Way

Leaving your garden to go wild doesn’t mean the area is out of bounds. Creating a wildflower garden that the pollinators can enjoy that’s filled with ox-eye daisies, yellow rattles, and wood cranesbill means you can enjoy the soundtrack of the buzzing of bees and the pleasing sight of butterflies fluttering by.

 

Create a rustic courtyard hideaway

Create A Rustic Courtyard Hideaway

 

Implement a garden path to make the most of the space, used to separate your wild or overgrown area which can also lead to another secret nook or alcove like a hidden pergola draped with exotic looking passion flowers or trumpet vines with their fiery red and orange blooms which grow well in full sun in well-drained soil. Tudor Cobbles are perfect for smaller scale areas, making these hand-crafted stones suitable for pathways leading to hidden courtyards where their traditional cobblestone appearance will add to the cosy garden atmosphere.

Whether you are looking for a fix for a garden with heavy, wet soil, or a way to level out your garden space, there are plenty of ways to add practical but personal features to make your garden feel like the extension of your home that it is.

 

 

There are many more videos featured here for you to explore.

David Domoney, TV gardener, horticultural expert and Pavestone brand ambassador blogs monthly on the Pavestone website on all things landscaping related.

We look forward to seeing you back again next month.

 

David Domoney is a Pavestone Ambassador